


Poetry Engraved on My Soul

by sansinukob



Series: Voice In My Head, Words in My Heart [4]
Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Bad Poetry, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Gender-Neutral Pronouns, I Tried, Multi, No beta we die like lilith, POV Third Person, Songfic, a hint of angst, it's Read My Heart, what did you expecct?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28368888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sansinukob/pseuds/sansinukob
Summary: “This is quite the shift, Satan.” Beleth let out a low whistle as his eyes scanned through the page of lyrics Satan wrote. “It’s less like a poem and more of a letter now.”“Something just made me realize that simplicity is one of the best approaches to expression of emotions. I think this version is better, anyway.”“You know what?" he grinned. "I think so too. This is Mittens, he’ll be playing the piano for us today as we try to figure out the instrumentals.”
Relationships: Main Character/Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader
Series: Voice In My Head, Words in My Heart [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937947
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	Poetry Engraved on My Soul

A new book! How wonderful it was that he was able to chance upon an extremely rare copy of a collection of poems written by an author with an unknown identity. Satan had read another book of salvaged poems by the same author as an offering by a witch who had sought his help on a particularly nasty hex that made her health decline. Ever since, he searched far and wide for copies of some of their common works as well as some lesser known ones and found himself falling in love over and over again with each phrase without even falling out.

Then he heard the rumours.

Nobody really knew who the author was, there was not a single clue about their identity in any of their works. Yet somehow, they were always able to leave a piece of them in each story and in each poem and Satan admired that a great deal. There were whispers, about a book of poems the writer themself compiled and never published. They say they left it in a library for anyone to stumble across it to unknowingly bask in a muniment of the archives of their most vulnerable state. There were some who were lucky enough to hold it once in their hands and read its contents but funnily enough, none of them could remember a single line to rewrite the whole book to make it much more easily accessible. All they could agree on was the fact the book was beautifully heart wrenching and had the ability to move anyone to tears.

He was giddy, he was not even going to hide the fact. A grin was stuck on his face and he was sure his dilated pupils would give him away should he deny the bliss if his brothers or MC walked in on him in what he considered to be an embarrassing state. Thankfully, everyone knew better than to disturb him mindlessly if he was situated in front of the fireplace in his favorite seat in the House of Lamentation’s library.

The book was leather bound, dyed blue with gilded frames adorning it. Old and worn after passing through different hands and the lack of a title or name stamped in gold further established the fact this wasn’t just another compendium of their poems or another fictitious product of their imagination. What was in his hands was the materialization of a being’s raw emotions; a reflection of their bare self. He flipped through the thin yellowed pages and the fact that it was handwritten just made it a much more intimate piece.

He turned to the first page.

_I never realized  
That I breathed in chaos  
Until there it was  
A bouquet of serenity _

He immediately noted that the first poem was already unlike their other works. They were fond of wordplay and their verses were always measured and had a pattern of rhymes. This was the first time he’d ever seen them use free verse in their poetry. He found it refreshing and was pleased to be met by something unusual from the author. 

He continued to the next pages.

_How is it,  
That you drown me in you  
So I could breathe? _

At that point it was a no brainer that it was an outlet for the author’s devotion and love for a certain person who made them feel at peace. His lips quirked upwards fondly as he went through the pages filled with nothing but awe and adoration and he couldn’t help but think of a special person himself.

_Gratitude isn’t enough to express  
The warmth that envelops me  
From your words  
That touch my heart  
And heal my soul _

The more he read, the more he was astonished that somebody could love so deeply and be able to express it through words but he was sure that if he ever got the chance to talk to the author, they would insist that their poems can’t hold a candle to how they actually feel.

He reached the last few pages of the book and he felt his heart sink.

_My dry lips  
Sting from sharp breaths  
Loss of redolent lavender _

_Farewell, my evanescent bouquet  
You, who brought upon a fresh breeze  
My panacea of a calmative  
For the winds of grandfather’s swings  
Have whisked you away  
Where I cannot follow _

He pursed his lips, sucked in a deep breath, and moved to the last page.

_No amount of florid words  
Can express what three simple ones could  
I love you  
Forever and always _

He didn’t know how long he’d been staring at the fireplace until he felt a gentle touch settle on his shoulder. He snapped out of his brooding and found himself being welcomed back to reality by the human’s warm smile.

“I made you tea.” They gestured to the steaming mug on the wooden side table. “Did you read something sad again?”

“Was it that obvious?” he flinched.

“Not really,” they hummed, brushing some of the strands of his hair out of his face. “To me, at least, it was. I like to think I know you enough to know how you get when you finish reading certain books.”

“Well, I guess you do.”

“Good, I’d hate to have brewed the wrong tea.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I noticed you like to brew certain teas depending on your emotions after certain endings. I brewed your ‘the book had a sad ending so I’m sad but content’ tea but I almost took your ‘the book had a sad ending but I have mixed emotions so I’m a bit lost tea’.”

He laughed. His heart fluttered and leapt in joy for their actions. If he was in demon form he was sure the tip of his tail would be twitching slightly like a cat’s to express his mirth.

_Words like "I love you"  
I’ve seen in books a lot, but… _

“Hey, you good?”

_I didn't know I was so poor at saying it out loud before I met you_

“Yeah,” he smiled. “Thanks for the tea.”

He sat on the bench in the garden of the House of Lamentation where the stray Devildom cats frequented as they knew he often stayed there, staring at the red sky. An orange feline was curled up on his lap and he stroked her body as he pondered over the book of poems he just read. 

“The sands rain on my fingers, wishing on your mind I linger,” he recited out loud. It was not a line from a poem he had read, it was something that simply poured from his lips. “My words don’t spill, of secrecy my heart has had its fill.”

He continued to stare at the dark ether above for a moment, pondering on his next words.

“I believed my eyes were open, yet you showed me what was beyond the ocean. Our sands are ephemeral, with this knowledge, I still yearn for them all.”

He was startled by clapping from behind and he glared at his visitor for catching him off guard.

“A favorite of yours?” Beleth asked.

“You startled me.”

“My apologies,” the other demon waved his hand with a dismissive chuckle and took his place beside his fellow ailurophile. He picked up the cat that rubbed its head against his leg and cradled it like an infant. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“It wasn’t, it was just something I made up.” Satan was startled once more by the sudden turning of Beleth’s head to face him.

“Wait, really?” He grimaced, knowing where his friend’s thoughts were heading to.

“I am not turning it into a song, Beleth.”

“Come on,” he whined. “Please, the lines sounded so lovely. What more if they were turned into a song?”

“No.”

“I’ll let my cats play the instruments as we work through it.” Beleth bargained, knowing Satan was just as smitten as him for his feline helpers. The lord’s face faltered for a split second and Beleth knew that he just needed to crack him in a little further. “I know you like to work alone with stuff like this so I’ll give you your space and instead send my helpers to the House on Lamentation for updates and the like. Speaking of, did you hear about the new cat café on Soul street?”

“For someone who is always furious and threatens everyone who summons him, you do a good job at bargaining,” Satan sighs, defeated.

“It’s one of my many talents. Now, just go write whatever poetry you do and we’ll talk about the instrumentals and the other musical stuff when you’re done.”

He sat on his bed, head leaning against the cool glass of his window with a pen and paper in hand. He looked at the words he wrote on it, a repeat of the string he unravelled in the garden.

_The sands rain on my fingers  
wishing on your mind I linger  
My words don’t spill  
of secrecy, my heart has had its fill _

_I believed my eyes were open  
yet you showed me what was beyond the ocean  
Our sands are ephemeral  
with this knowledge,   
I still yearn for them all _

His eyes land on the cup of tea on his nightstand, thoughts trailing to an incident some time ago.

_Professions of adoration  
In products of imagination  
I’ve witnessed it as the norm  
Yet on my tongue they refuse to form _

They felt wrong, all of them did.

He let out a heavy sigh and grabbed one of the many books scattered around haphazardly on his bed to distract himself for a bit and he opened it on a random page.

_The smoke of burning wood  
Spelled destruction to me  
Until I held you in my arms  
A winter’s warm comfort _

The untitled book of poems. He jumped to another random page.

_I’d never want anything more  
Than to hold you close  
Until the breath of life  
Is nothing but your scent _

He stared at the last page.

_No amount of florid words  
Can express what three simple ones could  
I love you  
Forever and always _

He put the book down and grabbed his pen, turning over the page to start on a blank canvas.

“This is quite the shift, Satan.” Beleth let out a low whistle as his eyes scanned through the page of lyrics Satan wrote. “It’s less like a poem and more of a letter now.”

“Something just made me realize that simplicity is one of the best approaches to expression of emotions. I think this version is better, anyway.”

“You know what?" he grinned. "I think so too. This is Mittens, he’ll be playing the piano for us today as we try to figure out the instrumentals.”

“You guys killed it back there,” MC praised, stretching their arms before leaning against the railing of one of RAD’s accessible rooftops. “I’m glad the exams were over and your performance was a nice breath of fresh air and a really nice way to end the week. It was nice of you and Beleth to accept Lord Diavolo’s request to perform your new song to end exam week.”

“I’m flattered you think so.”

“I can’t believe I’ve been here for so long,” they whispered.

_Gently touching_ _  
the days passing by...  
I want to tell you  
not to forget me _

“I never got to tell you this since we’ve all been busy for tests, but I really like your song.”

_Words like " I love you "  
I’ve seen in books a lot, but… _

“To be honest, I didn’t want to make it at first. Beleth just caught me at the wrong time, he can prove to be quite the persuasive demon.”

_I didn't know I was so poor at saying it out loud before I met you  
So poor that even my true heart,  
Stolen by you before I noticed,  
is covered up _

“Ah,” the human smiled knowingly, “during one of your poetic trances, huh? I can’t blame him. I, too, like hanging around whenever you get into those moods.”

“You do?”

“Yeah,” they smiled at him. “It’s soothing hearing nice words come from you even when there are times their meaning just flies over my head.”

He stared at them. Relishing how what little light the Devildom had bathed them, how the now vibrant red sky reflected in their eyes, how they made hell more beautiful.

_I thought that there were no more scenery or feelings that I didn't know  
The world dyed with your color  
I want to protect every last bit of it _

“But I like the simple language in your song, you made me tear up in my seat you know? I’m just glad none of your brothers caught me because they’d have teased me for it,” they laughed. They drummed their fingers against the metal in a slow rhythm and smiled softly.

“Gently touching the days passing by,” they sang.

Satan smiled and reached for their hand. “I want to tell you not to forget me.”

“Words like ‘I love you’, I’ve seen in books a lot, but...”

_This is a song for my beloved one_

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> don't mind the bad poetry, lmao. I wrote them.  
> the ones in the book are ones that I made and I honestly suck at rhyming and measured verses and all that stuff so of course I went with free verses. the ones that Satan recites and writes down are just fancier versions of the English lyrics. I get the translated lyrics for all the fics on the Obey Me! wiki and if I'm not mistaken they're translated by user @Maon_ObeyMe on Twitter so lots of love to them, honestly.  
> Asmo's is coming soon and I hopefully get it done before 2020 ends and I apologize if Satan's came late. Let's just say this is a special double fic thing for this little series for the holidays haha  
> as always, I hoped you enjoyed reading this! find me on tumblr @lamentingintheuniverse  
> Happy holidays!💞


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